For awhile I have struggled with the concept of obedience and doing things to please God. Here's my back and forth-ness - Am I do things for God (ie, read the Bible, go to church, tithe, teach Sunday school, etc) because it is simply my response to his love, grace and mercy and the impact it has had on my life? Or, am I doing them out of obligation and because "it's the Godly thing" to do? This is where I get in a rut. I love God and have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but sometimes I catch myself making a list of all the great things I do for him, thinking he might spare me from some earthly pain or maybe he won't challenge my faith any if I just lay low and play it cool. Does this make sense????
I worry that I do out of obligation and because I have a misconception that God will bless me more or love me more if do them. My aim is all wrong. I just wrapped up a Bible study this summer called "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity." It truly helped me to see how I can let my busy schedule rule my day and not have any time for God. There is a chapter in the book all about the good vs the best and how God deserves our very best. What hit me most was that all that I am doing for him isn't anything special....it's what he requires of me. Being a good person, giving to my church, and praying daily doesn't set me apart because they are all things....good things, mind you, but God expects them. What sets us apart is loving Jesus, living for him daily and telling others about the good news!
And another thing, if I'm honest with God that my aims feel off, he'll set them straight. Duh!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Running Tip #4 - Avoid that big thing in the road
So it's official. I have had my first bad fall while running....ever. And it's my own fault for many reasons. First of all, I got up at 5 am Sunday morning to run to "beat the heat". Nice try. I hit a wall thick hot air that morning. I still did 5 however. Then Monday came. Now, if I run one day, I take the next day off or do circuit training/weight lifting instead. But I got up and was awake before 8 and feeling like I could probably run. So I set out with a new route in mind that I was pretty excited about.
I was about 30 seconds into the run (no joke), when I saw a round thing on the sidewalk. I usually sidestep cracks or dead animals, rocks, etc. But for some reason, I thought this was rubber and I could step in it/near it. Bad idea. It was metal, and my foot got caught and I went tumbling. What makes it worse was that it was the intersection of 2 main roads in Belleville. Everyone going to work saw me, including the lawn maintenance guys working outside the city highway building for St. Clair County. I tumbled, skidded hard core and flipped over throwing my legs up in the air. There was no sense in being embarrassed...it freakin hurt. Next thing I know, an office lady came out and took me inside to clean up with bandages and neosporin. But sweat and bandaids don't really go together so I just tried to soak up as much blood as I could. So now I'm limping and have bloody knees, but hey, I'm out so what did I do? I ran 4 miles....bloody knees and all. I'm sure I got stares. And ya know how men get bloody nipples from running at times? Well, I thought maybe people would think that my version of that came on my knees.
So yesterday I couldn't walk down stairs very well or bend my knee but day 2 seems to be getting better. I can still do a full squat, which makes me think I don't have any serious knee damage. Just pus oozing and parts scabbing over. It's beautiful folks, let me tell you.
And yes, I worked out again today. Back to running tomorrow. I'm crazy and make boneheaded decisions sometimes, but hey, I'm a runner and not even the heat or a fall (aside from broken bones) will keep me away.
I was about 30 seconds into the run (no joke), when I saw a round thing on the sidewalk. I usually sidestep cracks or dead animals, rocks, etc. But for some reason, I thought this was rubber and I could step in it/near it. Bad idea. It was metal, and my foot got caught and I went tumbling. What makes it worse was that it was the intersection of 2 main roads in Belleville. Everyone going to work saw me, including the lawn maintenance guys working outside the city highway building for St. Clair County. I tumbled, skidded hard core and flipped over throwing my legs up in the air. There was no sense in being embarrassed...it freakin hurt. Next thing I know, an office lady came out and took me inside to clean up with bandages and neosporin. But sweat and bandaids don't really go together so I just tried to soak up as much blood as I could. So now I'm limping and have bloody knees, but hey, I'm out so what did I do? I ran 4 miles....bloody knees and all. I'm sure I got stares. And ya know how men get bloody nipples from running at times? Well, I thought maybe people would think that my version of that came on my knees.
So yesterday I couldn't walk down stairs very well or bend my knee but day 2 seems to be getting better. I can still do a full squat, which makes me think I don't have any serious knee damage. Just pus oozing and parts scabbing over. It's beautiful folks, let me tell you.
And yes, I worked out again today. Back to running tomorrow. I'm crazy and make boneheaded decisions sometimes, but hey, I'm a runner and not even the heat or a fall (aside from broken bones) will keep me away.
Day 2 pics......view at your own discretion
Friday, July 1, 2011
What kind of music do you run to?
Runner Tip #3 - How to select the right song list
When I first started running in college on the treadmills at Lantz (EIU is awesome!) I ran with a portable cd player and a mix cd I made from illegally downloaded songs! And that was in the year 2003! We've come a long way in our technology, especially in our devices that are super small and super convenient to run with! That said, I've had a Nike running device and 2 iPod's since then but any mp3 player works great. There frankly is no rhyme or reason to selecting music to exercise to but here is what I do....
First, in iTunes, I create a new playlist and label it, "Running 1" or "Indy Mini Mix" if I have a big race coming up. Then I scroll down through all of my music. You should really do this when you have 10-20 minutes. I sometimes sample them to see if they get me going at all. Some are fast songs and some are slow. If they are inspirational to me at all or have a good running beat to them, I drag them over to my playlist.
Now, let's say I'm done and have about 25-35 songs in my playlist (which is frankly a lot...I'm very picky). I then sample the beginning and ending of songs to see which ones I want in what order. This may be a little anal for some of you, but honestly, that's how they put recording artist's albums together. It does have a purpose. Music should flow from one song to the next....especially when you are running! If not, I find it jarring and I almost always skip the song when I end up running to it.
The type of music is also very important. I know someone who only listens to slow, mellow Christian music when he runs. That's great, but I need a little umph (sp?) once in a while. I have another friend who listens to sermons and various podcasts when he runs. Boring for me, but works great for him. Run to whatever gets you in the mood to run. There are some songs that come on, that I will hit repeat on 3-4 times during a run, because on that particular day, that song just has "it". I tend to be very eclectic in my running mix music.
Here is what is on my playlist right now and what I used for the Indy Half Marathon:
1 Chariots of Fire theme song - great for a beginning of any race
2. Pump It Up - don't know the artist but it's sort of a techno song (probably not the 90's song you are thinking of though)
3. Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen - just a fun song
4. The Way - Jeremy Camp - when this song came on during the race, I ran to it 4-5 times because it had such amazing lyrics
5. Airplanes - B.o.B - sort of weird transition because this song has some cuss words in it but it is still a good fast paced song.
6. Christ is Risen - Matt Mahar
7. Happy Day - Tim Hughes
8. Separate Ways - Journey - great and a long song which helps to pass time
9. Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill
10. Forever Reign - Shane and Shane
11. Umbrella - Rihanna - guilty pleasure!
12. Your Grace is Enough - Matt Mahar
13. 4 Minutes to Save the World - Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
14. Gone in 60 Seconds - Moby
15. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Steven Curtis Chapman
16. I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown
17. In My Head - Jason Derulo
18. The Stand - Hillsong United
19. Baba O Riley - The Who - oldie but a goodie
20. Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
21. Salvation is Here - Hillsong United
22. How He Loves - David Crowder Band
If you know any of these songs, I can tell you I'm really into a repeating anthem that builds. For instance, Jesus Paid It All, "Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead." That phrase is mighty and it repeats and builds over and over. Another one from Christs is Risen is "Oh death where is your sting? Oh hell, where is your victory? Oh church, come stand in the light. Our God is not dead, he's Alive! He's alive!"
Some of favorite Christian artists right now are: Matt Mahar, Hillsong United, Shane and Shane, Francesca Battistelli, The Afters, and Chris Tomlin. But I very much need some pop/rap songs in there for the beat. It's funny because sometimes I need a boost and other times I can forever to songs like How He Loves which has parts that are slow.
My advice is to pick what you like, can sing along to, and works for you. Afterall, you are the one it's for. If you are into podcasts, do that. If rap is your thing, put that on your mix! Run to what you like and make sure it flows so it's not just a mix of random stuff.
Hope this helps and happy running!
When I first started running in college on the treadmills at Lantz (EIU is awesome!) I ran with a portable cd player and a mix cd I made from illegally downloaded songs! And that was in the year 2003! We've come a long way in our technology, especially in our devices that are super small and super convenient to run with! That said, I've had a Nike running device and 2 iPod's since then but any mp3 player works great. There frankly is no rhyme or reason to selecting music to exercise to but here is what I do....
First, in iTunes, I create a new playlist and label it, "Running 1" or "Indy Mini Mix" if I have a big race coming up. Then I scroll down through all of my music. You should really do this when you have 10-20 minutes. I sometimes sample them to see if they get me going at all. Some are fast songs and some are slow. If they are inspirational to me at all or have a good running beat to them, I drag them over to my playlist.
Now, let's say I'm done and have about 25-35 songs in my playlist (which is frankly a lot...I'm very picky). I then sample the beginning and ending of songs to see which ones I want in what order. This may be a little anal for some of you, but honestly, that's how they put recording artist's albums together. It does have a purpose. Music should flow from one song to the next....especially when you are running! If not, I find it jarring and I almost always skip the song when I end up running to it.
The type of music is also very important. I know someone who only listens to slow, mellow Christian music when he runs. That's great, but I need a little umph (sp?) once in a while. I have another friend who listens to sermons and various podcasts when he runs. Boring for me, but works great for him. Run to whatever gets you in the mood to run. There are some songs that come on, that I will hit repeat on 3-4 times during a run, because on that particular day, that song just has "it". I tend to be very eclectic in my running mix music.
Here is what is on my playlist right now and what I used for the Indy Half Marathon:
1 Chariots of Fire theme song - great for a beginning of any race
2. Pump It Up - don't know the artist but it's sort of a techno song (probably not the 90's song you are thinking of though)
3. Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen - just a fun song
4. The Way - Jeremy Camp - when this song came on during the race, I ran to it 4-5 times because it had such amazing lyrics
5. Airplanes - B.o.B - sort of weird transition because this song has some cuss words in it but it is still a good fast paced song.
6. Christ is Risen - Matt Mahar
7. Happy Day - Tim Hughes
8. Separate Ways - Journey - great and a long song which helps to pass time
9. Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill
10. Forever Reign - Shane and Shane
11. Umbrella - Rihanna - guilty pleasure!
12. Your Grace is Enough - Matt Mahar
13. 4 Minutes to Save the World - Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
14. Gone in 60 Seconds - Moby
15. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Steven Curtis Chapman
16. I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown
17. In My Head - Jason Derulo
18. The Stand - Hillsong United
19. Baba O Riley - The Who - oldie but a goodie
20. Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
21. Salvation is Here - Hillsong United
22. How He Loves - David Crowder Band
If you know any of these songs, I can tell you I'm really into a repeating anthem that builds. For instance, Jesus Paid It All, "Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead." That phrase is mighty and it repeats and builds over and over. Another one from Christs is Risen is "Oh death where is your sting? Oh hell, where is your victory? Oh church, come stand in the light. Our God is not dead, he's Alive! He's alive!"
Some of favorite Christian artists right now are: Matt Mahar, Hillsong United, Shane and Shane, Francesca Battistelli, The Afters, and Chris Tomlin. But I very much need some pop/rap songs in there for the beat. It's funny because sometimes I need a boost and other times I can forever to songs like How He Loves which has parts that are slow.
My advice is to pick what you like, can sing along to, and works for you. Afterall, you are the one it's for. If you are into podcasts, do that. If rap is your thing, put that on your mix! Run to what you like and make sure it flows so it's not just a mix of random stuff.
Hope this helps and happy running!
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